Appliances, and in particular clothes dryers, often include ducts to exhaust air from the appliance to an external location. In the case of dryers, the amount of thermal energy associated with the exhausted air and the confined space in which a dryer is typically placed dictates the design of the coupler used to connect an exhaust duct from the dryer to the exterior of the structure.
Typically, an exhaust duct is connected to a discharge vent using duct clamps, which can distort the shape of the exhaust duct. Other designs employ metal exhaust conduits that are attached via a telescopic fit, i.e. one end of the conduit has a larger diameter than the other end, and the ends are then attached to each other and secured by a clamp. In some instances the ends of a coupler must be twisted to cause the corresponding ends to lock into place.
These designs, however, make it difficult to install ducts and often require that the appliance be moved in order to connect, disconnect, inspect, clean or replace the duct. Accordingly, there remains a need for a coupler that easily connects and disconnects to duct, improving the installation, inspection, cleaning and replacement of an appliance duct.